You might be forgiven for thinking that July is too late to start planting vegetables – because the growing season is well underway, but fear not there is still plenty of time! While the weather may be hotter and sunnier, there is still plenty to be doing in your vegetable garden in July that will give you crops later in summer and into the autumn and winter. Check out these recommendations for what vegetables to plant in July.
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What Vegetables to Plant in July
As the weather is generally warm and sunny in July in the UK you can get a great start by sowing vegetable seeds in July, the warm temperatures mean that you can get some great quick veggie crops going. In July you can sow vegetable seeds directly into the soil or compost as the temperatures are warm enough for this. Here’s what veg to plant in July.
Beetroot are great vegetables to plant in July UK weather permitting
This is my favourite of the July vegetables to plant (read about growing beetroot here) and July is your final chance to plant beetroot – so get some in there, by now we hope you’ve been enjoying the results of your succession planting and eating both the leaves in your salads and also the beets. What’s your favourite way to eat them? We love preserving beetroot to enjoy throughout the year! Boltardy is a great beetroot variety to plant in July.
Broccoli is a great veg to plant in July UK wide
July is a great time to start your autumn and winter vegetables and broccoli is a great example of crops to plant in July. Buy Broccoli seeds to plant in July about 1 centimetre deep and 30 centimetres apart to ensure that the veg has plenty of room to grow. The ground needs to be kept moist and if possible in full sun. Once the broccoli starts to appear and you can see crowns, it is best to try and keep them dry, so water the ground, not the plant. Many varieties of broccoli will be ready to eat in 80-90 days. Make watering easier with an expandable hose – here’s our guide to the best of them.
Carrots are last chance vegetables to grow in July
July is usually the last month for sowing carrots, so if you’re looking for more things to plant in July in your vegetable garden then look no further. If you’re planting carrots from seed then you need to plant -10 centimetres apart. Remember to weed and water them regularly. These heirloom carrots are great for quick-growing, especially in pots. Watch for carrot fly if you’re thinning seedlings. Read more about carrots – and how to grow carrots in pots in our guide here.
Start growing mushrooms in July
You can grow mushrooms all year round with the help of mushroom growing kits, which are the easiest way to grow your own mushrooms. Starting is simple, pick up a kit – which includes everything that you need and then expand out. While we started with plain white mushrooms (this is a fabulous starter kit here), you don’t have to you can grow chestnut mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. Give it a go! Here are just some of our favourite kits for mushroom growing if you’re a beginner.
Top PRODUCT PICK
This excellent Mushroom Growing kit from the folks at Merryhill Mushrooms is the perfect starter mushroom growing kit and it’s so easy to get started with full instructions
Cauliflower are great things to plant in July
We love cauliflower – it is awesome in Indian dishes, which are our favourite, and it’s great fresh veg for the colder weather. Cauliflower grows well in a sunny spot and will do best if you start it in a well-fertilized soil – so make use of that compost bin, or buy some decent compost to boost your soils. Growing cauliflower from seed is easy, drop the seeds about one centimetre deep and 10 centimetres apart. Cauliflower needs watering regularly if the soil dries too much in the sun try and provide some shade for your baby caulis.
Succession Sow more Lettuce and Salad Leaves in July
Salad leaves and lettuce are a fabulous fresh veg to plant successively throughout the year, and you’ll want to keep doing this through July. With some varieties ready to eat in just 21 days, you’ll find that salad leaves and lettuce will save you a packet when it comes to shopping.
Top Pick of Rocket, Lettuce and Salad Leaf Seeds to Grow
Salad leaves and lettuce are seriously quick wins when it comes to growing vegetables. If you sow them continually from about March until September then you’ll get heaps of fresh veg direct from the garden and save a LOT of money compared to supermarket buying. This bag of mixed salad leaf seeds will save you a fortune!
Sow Radishes in July
Radishes are a great vegetable to sow in July. They’re pretty quick to grow to maturity and you can use them as a companion plant to other vegetables. Radishes need lots of sun and consistently moist soil or compost – but don’t drown them! Radishes are also a great vegetable for succession sowing – sow a batch of radishes every two weeks for a great regular harvest to add to your salads and cooking.
These French Breakfast Radish seeds are quick growing and are seriously easy to grow – buy French Breakfast Radish seeds here.
Plant Spinach during July
Here at Let’s Grow Cook, we love spinach as a salad addition and also in cooking. Yeah, we totally get that that it cooks down to nothing, but it’s a great green to add and it’s high in iron. Spinach is also a great crop to grow in pots and another one to add to your succession sowing list. Spinach Perpetual is a great variety to grow in July > buy perpetual spinach seeds now!
Plant Onions in July
While growing your own onions won’t save you a lot of money, they’re a really great vegetable to plant in July for making your own chutney or even just using in your home cooking. Onions are also pretty hardy. They’ll need a good watering and pay special attention to watering them during periods of little rain too.
You can grow onions from seeds or more easily than ever from onion sets – we recommend these onion sets for beginners.
Try planting Turnips in July
Turnips might not be in vogue, but they’re a good vegetable to sow in July and will give you two crops. You can direct sow turnip seeds about 1 centimetre deep – keep the soil moist and you’ll be able to harvest turnip crop 60 days from sowing seeds. You can eat the leaves and greens in salads, or use them as a spinach replacement in some dishes. And of course the root. You’ll find that young turnip is much tenderer than the older, bigger ones. These Turnip Seeds are a great one for starting with – buy them now!
Sow French Beans in July
July is your last chance to sow French beans and runner beans if you’re in the south of the UK – it’s more so that the pods can mature a little before it starts to get too cold! Use dwarf varieties (we like these ones) in containers for a more manageable use of space!
Bargain Gardener Tip – Garden Centre Discounts in July
If you’re vegetable gardening on a budget, then we recommend heading to the garden centres in late June and early July. You’ll find the end of range and end of season vegetable plants a whole lot cheaper. Not all of them will look as healthy as they might once have done, but you’ll also find some bargains that will give your vegetable harvesting a boost! You’re likely to find lots of tomato plants around as well as squash or bell pepper plants.
If you’ve made friends with other local vegetable gardeners you could also luck out on the honest box scheme. Take a walk around your neighbourhood and check out those selling plants from their front driveway and pick up a few bargains from local growers. One of the benefits of doing this is that the plants have been grown in your local area and that should give you confidence that they’re a good variety for your garden too!
What Jobs to do in the Vegetable Garden in July
While you might not immediately think that there’s a lot of vegetables to plant during July the above list could also give pause to thought! There are as well a few jobs that you’ll want to get into the habit of doing to ensure that your vegetable harvest is safe.
Harvesting during July
If you’ve been succession sowing vegetables since earlier in the year you’ll want to keep harvesting – for many vegetables regular harvesting ensures that they continue to crop, so keep harvesting and you’ll get better results.
Keep Watering Your Vegetables in July
As the weather heats up so the soil or compost dries out. By now though you should be in the rhythm of regular watering. Aim to water on an evening after the sun has moved away from your crops and it’s best to try and water the compost or soil rather than the leaves of a vegetable, which can cause them to burn.
Thin Seedlings during July
If you’re lucky enough to have planted in a raised bed or into the soil and you’ve sown a lot of vegetables then you’ll want to thin out certain ones to make sure that they don’t crowd each other and that each plant gets enough space and nutrition to grow. This shouldn’t be as much of a problem if you’re growing in containers or pots.
What Vegetables to Harvest in July
Depending on what you’ve been sowing earlier in the year (check out what to plant in May) and the varieties of vegetables that you’ve grown then you’ll likely find beetroot, some carrots and of course salad leaves ready for harvesting in July. It is best to only pick what you’re going to use immediately as one of the best ways to keep vegetables for longer is to leave them growing for a while. Leaving vegetables on the plant also means that they’ll have that fresh from the garden taste when you do pick them. Be wary of courgettes though – they can seem to double in size overnight, which means you’ll need to have a plan of what to do with a glut of courgettes (we recommend chutney, which means a good chutney making kit is a requirement).
All our monthly vegetable planting guides
- What vegetables to plant in January
- What vegetables to plant in February
- What vegetables to plant in March
- What vegetables to plant in April
- What vegetables to plant in May
- What vegetables to plant in June
- What vegetables to plant in July
- What vegetables to plant in August
- What vegetables to plant in September
- What vegetables to plant in October
- What vegetables to plant in November
- What vegetables to plant in December
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Final Words on What Vegetables to Plant in July
Warmer, sunnier weather in July means that the weather will do the majority of the work for you in the vegetable garden. Sowing seeds directly into compost or soil is an easy way to get things started, although you’ll need to ensure that your soil is moist. While July is a great time for enjoying the garden, we hope this is a useful guide to what to grow in July in the vegetable garden. Most of all in July you should enjoy the vegetables that you’ve planted earlier in the year and enjoy the summer weather safe in the knowledge that it is helping your future harvest!
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